172 TALKS ABOUT BIRDS 



one adjutant still found it worth his while to 

 call ; he was a well-known character both to 

 men and to the crows, and might have been 

 there still if some one fresh out from home 

 had not shot him, not knowing that adjutants 

 were protected by law, as is the case with 

 scavenging birds in several countries. 



The last town bird I shall mention is also a 

 stork the stork, in fact, for it is the well- 

 known white, red-legged bird we all make the 

 acquaintance of so early from tales and pictures. 

 In fact, if you notice, most people call any long- 

 legged bird a stork, though the stork was 

 never a common British bird as the heron is 

 and the crane was. But it is the best-known 

 of all big birds in many parts of the Continent, 

 especially in Holland, Germany, and Turkey, 

 because it comes into towns to build on the 

 roofs, and is a welcome visitor in spring, and 

 one that cannot be overlooked. 



So it comes that it is as familiar as a tame 

 bird, and has got into all the legends and fairy- 

 tales ; in fact, it may claim to be the most 

 popular as well as the most handsome of all 

 birds which come to live with us. Let us hope 

 that some day some enterprising storks may 



